A picture demonstrating what I am seeing with my plants...

BTW...there are some Sweet Peppers in there that appear to be experiencing similar issue(s), but they appear more healthy than tomatos at this point.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1327748}}

The legginess of the tomatoes indicate not enough light exposure, and tomato seedlings can't take much water until they reach the second set of true leaf stage. An adequate propagation setup will make all the difference in the world, as I learned my first year, too. I also think damping off disease got the ones that withered away - which is probably because of the overwatering and ambient temperature....

EG

What is "legginess"? What is an adequate "propogation setup"?

sun scald

I think peat pots are generally a nightmare because when moisture levels are low, they suck out whatever is left. They may have added to the sun trauma. Even simple paper cups with drainage holes punched in the bottom are an improvement over peat pots.

Legginess means that the seedlings have grown tall reaching for more light. This makes them weak and they will often fall over. You need to have your seedlings just a few inches under bright light as soon as they sprout. Keep them "moist" not "wet". Put a small fan near them so they get a GENTLE breeze...this will help strengthen the stems.
I agree with Jtcm about sun scald. "Direct sun" through a window is not the same as being outside in sun. You can't just put inside plants outside in full sun without hardening them off or they will burn(scald). We've all done it at some point, that's how we know(lol).
Please read the FAQ section at the top of the forum page...it has all the important info you need...but don't stop asking questions!HTH

Here is a link that might be useful: tomato FAQs

Brian - an adequate propagation system is simply a fluorescent fixture suspended above the seedlings that is allowed to emit light on the seedlings for around 16 hours each day. The bulbs should be kept within 1-2" of the top of the plants for maximum exposure. As the others mentioned, a gentle breeze from a fan is recommended too.

EG

OK, so I was hoping to plant some tomatos without having to purchase all sorts of lighting and equipment. If i am going to lay down all sorts of cash for equipment, I may as well just buy my tomatos from the produce stand...

Is there a recommended approach to planting tomato plants using good old fashioned "natural" light (i.e. window sill)?

I did notice when they were sprouting (growing), I had to rotate the pots 90 degrees each day as they kept reaching for the sun (while inside). I thought they started looking a little "flimsy" when they got about 3 inches in height. How do you prevent "legginess" when using natural light?

Thanks for the info! I am completely new to all this and I don't want to give up. I have a "backup" set of 25 planters and seeds because I figured I would run into problems with my first set. I am hestiant to start them up because i want to be sure I do it "right" next time.

Brian there is a great How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed FAQ here that I will link below for you. And if you will jump over to the Growing from Seed forum here you'll find several additional FAQs on lights, transplanting, etc. and well as pictures of light set-up folks have constructed for growing seedlings and discussions of costs.

But the advantage to growing your own is it allows you to try many more varieties than are ever available as transplants.

Is there a recommended approach to planting tomato plants using good old fashioned "natural" light (i.e. window sill)?

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to grow quality seedlings indoors with out supplemental lighting. Windows provide a 10th of the lighting needed. Compare yours to those you buy that were grown in a greenhouse and still needed supplemental lighting.

But some do it and they don't mind the long lanky seedlings they get. They just bury them deeply when they move them to the garden but the quality of the plant you get is inferior.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed FAQ

As far as expense of equipment, it doesn't have to be prohibitive. If you're just growing a few plants, one standard shop light is all you need, and once you have it, you have it-they last for years. No need for expensive 'grow lights' either, the cheapie bulbs (tubes) work fine, especially with supplemental light from a window (I grew orchids successfully for years this way).

I'm growing my first heirloom tomatoes from seed this year under tubes that are several years old (also trying to grow without too much cash output, my first time, experimenting, etc). I'm sure they'd do better with new bulbs, but since I started this project so late I figured it didn't matter much (I'll replace tubes for the next round). In my inexperienced opinion, my plants look great for six weeks without having used bottom heat (again, it wouldn't have made a significant difference with the late start).

So, bottom line is, a relatively small investment can make a serious difference in overall results.

-O-

OK, so I have regular old shop lights in my garage, but this is the only place I have them and am willing to put them. I live in New Jersey and temperatures are into the 80's already here this year.

Will my plants last if I put them in the garage? Or will they succumb to virus, disease, insect, etc?

-Brian

No expensive light setup required. I do mine OUTSIDE in paper or styrofoam cups. Easy-peasy. See the "Winter Sowing" forum here at GW.

If you are already in the 80s why not plant them in the garden?? I won't be starting anything else inside this year except maybe a small fall crop.

Am i missing something?? I thought tomatos always had to be started inside???

What started them inside before MAN? The reason we start them inside is to get a jump on the growing season NOT because we have to.

Brian - if you'll choose a variety with an early maturity date (like early girl), it's definitely doable.

EG

To answer your original question, "What's wrong with my tomato plants?":

It is most definitely sun scald, which someone else also pointed out. Take them out of the direct sun a little to let them recover and make sure to just give as much water as they need. Over-watering them after they've already been burnt might be their death knell.

To address some of what was said here after that:

Based on your pictures, the plants are slightly leggy, but only slightly in my opinion - the real issue you are dealing with now is that you put your plants into too much direct sunlight too quickly, and they need to recover from that before they'll do anything.

I have seen some people who choose to grow seedlings on the windowsill without lights and they can turn out OK - not great - but hey, it's cheaper and if it works for you, no need to change it... everyone on here has their own opinions though. I choose to grow under lights and I sprout a month earlier than some and grow in the cooler conditions in my basement. That works great for me, but that has one primary disadvantage - the plants take a little longer to harden off to wind and direct sunlight... But hey, I'm willing to accept that cost since they are generally good stocky plants with good root systems.

If you should choose to start indoors and grow under lights (which is recommended), you don't need to spend a fortune on lighting systems. I grow the majority of my seedlings under a jerry-rigged lighting fixture I got at a yard sale coupled with a florescent bulb I picked up from a local hardware store.

No matter what you choose to do going forward, definitely check out the link that Dave provided. While growing tomatoes is far from rocket science, there are still some basics worth knowing before getting started. If you don't choose to follow everything you read, that's fine, but at least you'll have more to work with than before.

I "think" taz meant if it is in the 80's why aren't the plants already in your garden rather than to direct seed them in your garden. Maybe I'm wrong.

At any rate, your transplants - the ones in the pictures could go to the garden. Just plant them deeply burying most all that lanky stem. Some folks transplant theirs to the garden before any true leaves develop. I prefer to wait until they at least have one set of true leaves.

Dave

If your temps are in the 80s and not expected to go lower than about 50F, you can plant them in the garden after they are hardened off properly!

Move them outside in the shade for a few hours a day, then gradually lengthen the time and start some filtered sunlight, then direct sun working up to a full day in the sun.

Hope that helps.

Bets

Here is a link that might be useful: How do I start tomatoes from seed?

Thanks for the input everyone. I've started another set of "Beafsteak" tomatos in another of the same planter shown in original picture. I just planted this morning.

I don't have a basement, so my only option for keeping them lit, is in my garage. I don't trust the seedlings to the pests and poor airflow in the garage, so I figure the window sill is the best spot.

My plan is to keep them on an indoor (South-South West facing) window sill. Not sure if sunlight through a window is considered "direct" or not, but they won't be getting hit with "direct" sunlight until about 2pm. Then they'll have a pretty good dose of sunlight until about 7pm when the sun falls below the hill\trees in the back of our house. If this sounds like a recipe for disaster, please let me know. This is where I've been keeping the "droopy" plants from the original post and some of them appear to be recovering.

If they don't work there, maybe next spring I can try them out in the garage under the flourescent lights.

For kicks, I may do direct plant some of the seeds into the outdoor garden...but I'll wait until next weekend for that as the daytime temps are only getting into the low 60's this week.

You might want to look into Wintersowing for next year.

There's a discussion forum on GW as well as this site:

Here is a link that might be useful: wintersown.org

Hey Brian, just something to bear in mind - my grandmother started her tomato plants from seed on her windowsill - without fancy lights, heating pads, etc. You see, they lived without electricity back then! She did it every year. She had to start hers inside because she had to start them early enough to have them ready for outside when the temps were right. Oh, and there was no fancy soil mix either. Dad said the plants that were planted near the chicken coop were always the best plants.. lol

The whole and only purpose of starting seeds inside is to get a jump start on the season - start the seeds while cold outside to have little plants ready when it does get warm enough.

And your garage may be perfectly fine unless you warm the cars up in it with the doors closed. They might sufficate...

Beth

I start most of mine outdoors. I just need to be careful of the thunderstorms.

Don't lose faith just yet. This year was my first year starting from seed as well. Trial and error is the only way most of us learn the ins and outs. For example, I will never buy peat pots again lol. What people say is very true and the dozen or so seedlings I had in peat pots were visibly smaller and less healthy than the ones I did in plastic cups.

Hang in there. And as far as lights go....I just bought a cheap under the counter florescent tube light for 20 dollars. I propped it up over my seedlings (which got leggy as yours did and they all survived) with various things...stacks of books, cups etc. Since your temps are high enough right now....I would put them outside in the shade for a couple of days and slowly reintroduce them to full on sun.

Good luck!

So, thought I'd share an update with everyone. Here are 5 of the tomato plants that survived (see picture). They made it through and are now getting little white flowers on them in the garden. I suspect this means they'll be sprouting tomatoes soon.

Anyway, I ended up putting the 7 or so best plants I had into some bigger paper cups with some real dirt. I think alternated them inside under flourescent light and outdoors (mix of shade and sun) for a few weeks.

After this I went by local garden center and asked for some "trash" plastic planters. They gave them to me, so I transferred the tomato plants into these and placed them in the garden, but brought them in during really bad storms.

I transferred them to the garden when i thought they looked healthy enough to make it on their own. They've been in for about 2.5 weeks now and seem to be doing well. I think they are a little behind, but I think that has to do with the late start I got and how much I babied them to get them back to being "healthy".

I realize the garden is probably a little crowded, but it being my first year, I wanted to test the limits of the space I have available to grow them. They are growing in front of some tall sunflowers.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1327749}}

This late in the season you might want to go to Lowes or Home Depot and see if they still have plants. They may be on mark-down or they might make you a deal on them. Doing the math, it would be 6 weeks to get started seeds ready to transplant out, and that assumes just a short hardening off period. That puts you into early September. The soonest you would get anything (assuming you plant the earliest bearing varieties)would be 45-55 days. That puts you into October. If you plant average growth plants, you might be looking at early November for the first picks. When is your first frost date? getting a few plants from the hardware stores would get you some harvest, otherwise you might be disappointed after working so hard on your tomatoes.